Salmonella in space helps with sickness in humans

William Atkins
Thursday, 07 May 2009 18:30

Science - Health

NASA took up some Salmonella germs on the space shuttle and found they were many times more nasty than when they were grown here on Earth. Now, scientists are figuring out why. And, it may help us to control the bacteria when it invades our bodies and makes us sick.


The May 6, 2009 NASA article “Salmonella Spills its Secrets on the Space Shuttle” discusses why the Samonella bacteria grow three to seven times more dangerous on the Space Shuttle while orbiting the Earth than it did when grown on Earth.

It states, “Figuring out why could help safeguard astronauts from disease and lead to new treatments for food poisoning and other common ailments on Earth.”

Cheryl Nickerson, Arizona State University, and her colleagues are studying Salmonella bacteria in space and here on Earth. They want to know why it gets worse in space and how to get it under control here on Earth.

Dr. Nickerson states, "We think space travel tricks Salmonella into behaving as if it is in the human gut. It's a mechanical phenomenon having to do with 'fluid shear.'"

The NASA article states, “Salmonella microbes have the ability to sense the force of fluid moving past their outer surfaces. This "fluid shear" acts as a signal to the microbe, helping it to know where in the human body it's located.”

And, “Salmonella usually enters the body by hitching a ride on food that a person eats. In the middle of the tube-shaped intestines, the liquid-like mixture of half-digested food and digestive juices churns around quite a bit, so the amount of fluid shear is high."

However, when it gets to the intestine wall it swims into tiny spaces between microvilli (hair-like structures). This point is critical to whether the bacteria can cause infection inside our bodies or not.

Page two talks about why these scientists think there is a connection between these space-grown bacteria and what happens inside our bodies.